ive always liked nash.. & wanted him in raptor red for a few years now but at this point in his career i dont see him signing with us.. also i dont think it would be good for the raps at this stage either.. someone a little shorter in the tooth would be of more use to us going forward. doesnt have to be a rookie but someone with a good 7-10 years left in the nba would be nice..

Doug Smith advocates bringing Nash to Toronto

I think Doug Smith reads RR:

Okay, Bryan? You here?

Okay, good.

Anyway, after serious consideration and a few conversations around Orlando this weekend and looking at what the other options are, here is the one thing you need to do this summer more than anything else:

Throw an awful lot of money at Steve Nash to get him to sign in Toronto.

I’m talking two years at least, perhaps $18-22 million with a third year at his option, and you’ve got to try to do whatever it takes to get him to come aboard.

It’s a bold move but what the hell, isn’t that what you do?

Now, I have no idea whether Nash would even entertain the idea but knowing what I know of him, knowing his circumstances and what’s out there in the league, and after chatting with some folks around all-star weeend, I am 100 per cent confident that he will go into the free agency period with an open mind.

We know he loves Toronto as a city, we know he’s not about chasing a championship because he would have done that two years ago or forced a trade already so don’t go into it thinking you’ve got no chance.

It may be a huge long shot but you’ve got to take it.

It would be a signal to the other players on the team, the other players in the league and a fan base that’s stuck with you through some recent lean times that you’re willing to make a bold move for an immediate return.

What’s to lose?

Would you rather try to spend your money on Nicolas Batum or Wilson Chandler or Andrei Kirilenko or someone of that ilk? They’re all good players who might help your team and everthing but none of them are even close to Nash.

Nash immediately makes DeMar DeRozan better. He immediately makes Andrea Bargnani better. He immediately gets James Johnson better shots and if anyone can make it easy for Jonas Valanciunas to acclimate himself with the NBA on the offensive end, it’s a savvy, skilled point guard who has made a career out of making players better.

I bet the coach would love it, too. Your team is already young enough and you’re going to have Valanciunas and another high draft pick coming in anyway, why not get a guy who makes the transition from Europe or college easier for all. And don’t for a second think that Dwane couldn’t devise an offence – and more important, a defence – that would maximize what Nash can do.

To me, it’s a no-brainer to at least give it a shot; it hastens the rebuilding or retooling process and, as I mentioned, is a clear sign that you’re serious about getting things changed and changed relatively fast.

I’ll get back to you in July when it comes time to spend some of that money you’ve got; until then, think about it, please.

Not sold on the Nash idea. At all. Anybody remember the last time Toronto went out and overpaid for an aging former MVP legend free agent? That was Hakeem Olajuwon, who was also a high character guy, but whose best days were behind him. The other obvious problem with Nash, as many have stated, is that he can't play a lick of defence, which is 180 degree opposite to the so-called culture change Casey is trying to instill.

Not sold on the Nash idea. At all. Anybody remember the last time Toronto went out and overpaid for an aging former MVP legend free agent? That was Hakeem Olajuwon, who was also a high character guy, but whose best days were behind him. The other obvious problem with Nash, as many have stated, is that he can't play a lick of defence, which is 180 degree opposite to the so-called culture change Casey is trying to instill.

Not sure the Olajuwan comparisons are accurate. We can assume Nash will still be playing at a high level by season's end. Hakeem was definitely not playing at a high level when Toronto signed him.

Not sold on the Nash idea. At all. Anybody remember the last time Toronto went out and overpaid for an aging former MVP legend free agent? That was Hakeem Olajuwon, who was also a high character guy, but whose best days were behind him. The other obvious problem with Nash, as many have stated, is that he can't play a lick of defence, which is 180 degree opposite to the so-called culture change Casey is trying to instill.

Someone already brought that comparison up in the thread. Look at Hakeem's stats the last 2 years in Houston BEFORE the Raptors even signed him. Steve Nash is still performing at an All-Star level with a cast of misfits running along side.

The defense argument is a good one but, based on statistics at 82games.com, Nash is a definite upgrade in defense over Calderon and Bayless. This too is mentioned in the thread.

Someone already brought that comparison up in the thread. Look at Hakeem's stats the last 2 years in Houston BEFORE the Raptors even signed him. Steve Nash is still performing at an All-Star level with a cast of misfits running along side.

The defense argument is a good one but, based on statistics at 82games.com, Nash is a definite upgrade in defense over Calderon and Bayless. This too is mentioned in the thread.

might be tangent like but wouldn't the nba benefit the most from nash and kabongo both coming to toronto one way or another. then the conspiracy theories would be working for us. love nash to toronto. playoffs first next year guaranteed.

Great read 52. How did you manage to hack into the Star's service though? Reading D. Smith's blog it struck me as very out of character for him to go off in support of such a "fan"tasy opinion. But now I see how it all went down. Good job

How many times have you heard that the Suns will definitely not deal Steve Nash before the March 15 trade deadline?

Better question: Why have they taken that stance?

Answer: Because Suns owner Robert Sarver, according to sources close to the situation, continues to hold out hope that he can convince Nash to re-sign this summer for at least two seasons.

It remains to be seen how willing Nash is to stay after two seasons of steady decline on Sarver's watch since the Suns' Cinderella trip to the 2010 Western Conference finals. The New York Knicks' interest in pursuing Nash as a free agent in the summer is well-documented ... and sources with knowledge of the Dallas Mavericks' thinking say that the defending champs will definitely try to reunite Nash and Dirk Nowitzki in free agency in July if top targets Dwight Howard and Deron Williams elude them. The Toronto Raptors' interest in bringing Captain Canada back home is also well-established.

First call on July 1st should be to Nash with a 2 year $20M offer with a third year at his option.

If Calderon is not traded before March 15 and there is no cap space (and making a big assumption he continues to finish this year strong and he is not injured this summer) he could be a nice piece in any sign and trade as Phoenix and Portland could be looking for a PG plus the Raptors would have young pieces like ED or DD to combine.

The risk there, of course, is that keeping Nash beyond the trade deadline exposes the Suns to the same risks Orlando faces if it hangs onto Howard, creating the very real possibility that Nash could leave Phoenix without compensation. In that scenario, though, it's believed that Sarver would prefer to announce to the world afterward that the Suns tried everything they could to keep Nash but ultimately couldn't stop him from signing elsewhere -- and then start to try to rebuild with the resultant cap space -- as opposed to settling for a so-so trade in the next two weeks.

Toronto would be one of the only teams to offer something of value in return for Nash. Knicks - nope. Mavs- hardly. Raptors - why yes.

Nash Discusses Upcoming Free Agency: On the Dan Patrick Show earlier today, Steve Nash made it clear that he won’t return to the Phoenix Suns if they don’t make an effort to upgrade the roster this summer. Nash didn’t demand a trade from the Suns prior to this year’s trade deadline because he wanted to honor his contract. However, he won’t sign another deal in Phoenix unless the team surrounds him with talent.

“I definitely do want to win,” Nash said. “I’m not going to come back to the Suns if there isn’t an improvement, if they’re not ambitious and they’re not looking to upgrade the roster seriously. I think they are. They’ll have a lot of flexibility in free agency. I’ve been standing pat in many ways so they could do some things this summer. I think they’ll become a definite possibility for me, but I do want to win and I do want to consider all my options so it’ll be interesting to see what happens this summer.”

“It’s going to be interesting this summer,” Nash added. “Being a free agent, I didn’t really want to leave at the deadline. I felt I owed it to my teammates and the Suns organization and the fans. I could possibly be back for sure, but that will be more interesting than the trade deadline.”

When asked if he would like to team up with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami, Nash said he would have to consider joining the Heat.

“I would listen. [LeBron James] is phenomenal. I love what they’re doing there. A lot of people don’t like them because they put all that talent together. But they’re professional, they play hard, they play together and their coaching staff has done a great job. So, I have a tremendous amount of respect for them, and I would definitely listen.”

There’s no question that Nash will have a tough decision to make this summer.

“At this stage in my career, there’s going to be so many options to consider,” Nash said. “It’s going to be an interesting free agent summer. For me in particular, there’s going to be a lot of things to consider.”

Nash is modestly better than Calderon at this time, and I say that in the belief that Jose is the Raptors MVP, hands down, this season. Father time can not be denied, there is no logical argument that says Nash will not decline in performance in this very late stage in his great career. Bob Cousy and John Stockton are the only NBA point guards to play past 40. They both played their last game at age 41.

Jose is already here, performing at a high level, and under contract through next season. The Olympics are relatively early in the summer (July) this time around. He has put up a lot of minutes year in and year out and he's a mere pup at 30.